Papier Mache Decor

I wanted to share a fun project that was started over a year ago when my baby Karis was born. I decided I wanted to decorate her nursery using a 23" papier mache letter "K" from Joann Fabrics and Crafts.( Click here for buying info from Joann Fabrics.) She had the patchwork star nursery bedding from Pottery Barn in pink, green and yellow. I decided I would mimic her quilt and so started my project.
Unfortunately I don't have start to finish photos since this post is an afterthought, but I started with a bare letter "K" like the letter "E" below.

Then I chose 12x12 patterned papers from Joann's open cardstock that matched the the colors in the quilt. You should only need 1 sheet of each type of paper, but having an extra sheet is always a good idea. I chose 5-7 different patterns/colors for each letter. I then cut each sheet into 2x2" squares. After my paper was cut, I laid my squares out in the order I wanted them and repeated this pattern top to bottom, side to side. Before gluing my paper, I painted the sides of my letter with acrylic craft paint. Once dry, I glued each piece by hand, making painstaking cuts where needed. After all my pieces were placed and everything was sufficiently glued down, I used Tim Holtz distress ink in Vintage photo to give it an aged, antiqued look. Then, using a foam brush, I covered the entire thing in Glossy Mod Podge. Once it was dry, I used upholstery tacks to outline the letter. Then, I traced one of the stars on the quilt and cut it out of one of my papers and adhered it along with a ribbon and some chipboard with Karis' name spelled out to embellish the letter. I also used a little bit of pom pom trim on the top and bottom. Here are the other two I have just finished for my other two kiddos Elliot and Olivia.

I used Basic Grey Sweet Threads papers for Olivia's "O"

I used the same technique with theirs because I like how Karis' turned out so well. These are a great impact piece in their rooms. I love the way they turned out! They were a fun and affordable to personalize their rooms.

Happy Valentine's Day

Ok, so this is a little late. I meant to have this posting up yesterday, but I am fighting an awful head cold! Not to mention I have been busy. I have been working on a few projects, but nothing that I have finished for posting. My most recent project was the cards I made for my Valentine's this year. I think they turned out so cute!

Miss Olivia's card

Karis' (aka Squishy) card

Kevin's card

  
Elliot's card

I took a 12x12 piece of red cardstock and cut out 4 4x8" pieces of paper and scored them at 4". I folded them in half and then cut my cream mat at 3.5x3.5". Then I took my ADORABLE valentine's paper and cut it at 3.25x3.25? square, fussy cutting around the figure that I wanted to stand out. For example, the little fisherman above. Then I embellished with red baker's twine, black cardstock stickers, red self adhesive rhinestones, bottle caps, handmade roses, punched flowers and cardstock letter stickers.

I am working on my first paper bag album, thanks to Brandy! She has been so good about sharing how-tos with me. Thank you! I even scraplifted her matting formula. She is a scrapbooking genius! You can check out her Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ocbrandy or her facebook page by clicking here. Brandy also has listings on eBay with the design team The Paper Hen House. You can search their listings by typing TPHH in the search bar. All of Brandy's creations are beautiful! Her attention to detail and her sense of color and design is impeccable. Also, she has great taste in papers! ; )

So, again, thank you Brandy! I will be sharing some photos of the album when it is finished. I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!